Business Today, December 20, 1999

State Farm appeals judgment

Published: Tuesday, December 21, 1999

MARION, Ill. State Farm has filed an appeal of the $1.2 billion breach-of-contract judgment against the Bloomington-based insurer for requiring what a judge and jury found to be substandard auto parts for repairs.

The appeal was filed Friday in Williamson County Circuit Court and will be forwarded to the Illinois Appellate Court in Mount Vernon within 60 days, court officials said Monday.

Among other things, State Farm's appeal claims none of the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit proved they were injured in cars repaired with generic parts, according to State Farm spokesman Dave Hurst.

In October, a Williamson County jury awarded $456 million in a breach-of-contract claim involving as many as 4.7 million State Farm policyholders with claims dating from July 1987.

Drug merger draws pros, cons

NEW YORK The merger plans of Monsanto Co. and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. rattled investors Monday, as shareholders thought both mid-size U.S. pharmaceutical companies could have fetched a better deal.

But analysts said the companies are making the right move to sustain their long-term growth in the risky pharmaceutical business.

Monsanto's products include the blockbuster arthritis treatment Celebrex; farm chemicals that include the popular herbicide Roundup.

Pharmacia's major products include Detrol, a bladder-control treatment; Depo-Provera, a contraceptive; and Xalatan, a glaucoma drug.

Court rejects ban on ATM fees

HARTFORD, Conn. The Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday rejected state regulations barring banks from charging non-customers for using their automated teller machines.

The court ruled 5-2 that the law on which the ban was based was not drafted with ATMs in mind.

The fees, typically ranging from $1 to $2, are levied on customers who use ATMs belonging to another bank. The decision does not affect the fees a customer's own bank may also charge for using another bank's ATM. The legality of those fees was never in question.

Connecticut was one of only two states where the fees had been banned. Iowa's ban remains in effect, but two surcharge bans recently approved in California cities are on hold while banks challenge the votes in court.